Mao. 21.
Tue speech delivered by the chairman at yesterday afternoon's annual meeting of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce travels largely over ground al, ready covered by the Committee's report and commented on by us—on the 10th instant, but two important points call.for notice. First comes the letter from the manager of the Shanghai Mutual Telephone Ca., promising. improvement, adducing solid reasons for hope that this promise may be realized and giving a comparison between the times of getting a call through in London and in Shanghai, much to Shanghai's advantage. This paper has so often published. irritable remarks about the telephone service that' it naturally dislikes having to admit that there may be something to say on the other side. But calm reflexion may bring secret misgiving that we are all a little spoiled in Shanghai and make a great outcry about troubles which might be regarded in a very different light elsewhere.
The second point in Mr. Stitt's speech is his remarks about the 2} per cent. surtax. Let us quote them here The usual chaotic state of China's finances still calls for lively interest. Views regarding the proposed per cent. surtax are widely divergent but it would appear that any possible benefits to be derived front such a levy must Ve conditional on other things, viz:—the inauguration of a strong and effective Central Government, the consolidation of unsecured and insufficiently secured debts and the disbandment of troops. A sincere desire has been evinced from various quarters to aid China in the work of putting her house in order, but any considerable financial aid, whether by surtax or otherwise, must prove abortive whilst existing conditions prevail.
Now it is quite possible that Mr. Stitt had no intention of supporting the view taken by the "'North-China Daily News'? in opposition to the British Chamber of Commerce. It is even possible that he is still unconscious of having done se; for managers of big banks may be too tired to read newspapers after their day's work, too preoccupied before it and certainly too busy during it. And if anybody calls his attention to what we have written here, he may write to say that we have entirely mis.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.